Altria, JDS Uniphase, Time Warner

MichaelBaron

Among the companies whose shares are expected to be active in Wednesday's trading session is Altria Group
MO, -0.18%
The parent company of Philip Morris is expected to report a profit of $1.06 a share in the fourth quarter, according to analysts polled by Thomson First Call.

Integrated oil company ConocoPhillips
COP, -0.75%
is expected to post a profit of $1.43 a share for the fourth quarter.

Network equipment maker JDS Uniphase's
JDSU
fiscal second quarter is expected to show a loss of 2 cents a share.

Chipmaker LSI Logic
LSI, +0.29%
is seen posting a fourth-quarter profit of 4 cents a share.

Athletic shoe and apparel maker Reebok International
RBK
is expected to report earnings of 42 cents a share for the fourth quarter.

Media giant Time Warner
TWX, -0.05%
is seen reporting fourth-quarter earnings of 15 cents a share.

Veritas Software
VRTS, +0.14%
is expected to report earnings of 24 cents a share for the fourth quarter.

WellPoint Health Networks
WLP
is due out with fourth-quarter results, for which it is expected to report earnings of $1.71 a share.

Amazon.com
AMZN, +0.20%
closed out its first full year of profitability on Tuesday, citing the success of its free shipping and low prices. The Seattle-based Web-retailing giant said after the markets closed that it earned $73 million in the fourth quarter, or 17 cents per share. This compares to $2.7 million, or 1 cent per share, in the same period a year ago. Not counting one-time items, Amazon.com said it earned $125 million, or 29 cents per share, versus $75.4 million, or 19 cents a share in the year-ago period, matching Wall Street's consensus earnings estimate. Amazon.com reported quarterly sales of $1.9 billion vs. $1.43 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts on average expected $1.869 billion in sales. See full story. Shares fell 3.8 percent in after-hours trade, to $53.60.

Broadcom
BRCM
reported a fourth-quarter profit as sales of its communications chips accelerated. The Irvine, Calif.-based company posted income of $6.1 million, or 2 cents a share, reversing a loss of $1.76 billion, or $6.40 a share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time gains and losses, the company said it earned $61.3 million, or 19 cents a share, up from $43.8 million, or 14 cents, a year ago. That beat the 16-cent consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. Revenue jumped 62 percent to $479.1 million from $295.9 million a year earlier. In the prior quarter, sales totaled $425.6 million. See full story. Shares of Broadcom traded for $43.35 after the bell, a 6.8 percent rise.

In an effort to save about $400 million per year, Kraft Foods
KFT
said that it would slash 6,000 jobs -- about 6 percent of its workforce -- and take charges of about $1.2 billion over the next three years. The company is also closing up to 20 of its factories worldwide, starting with plants in New York and Ohio. About half of the costs will be non-cash, the company said. See full story. Kraft shares fell 34 cents to $31.79 in late trade.

Avaya
AV., -1.73%
a developer of corporate-phone systems, said Tuesday that fiscal first-quarter income rose to $10 million, or 2 cents a share, reversing a loss of $121 million, or 33 cents, a year earlier. Excluding onetime items, the company said it earned $30 million, or 7 cents a share. That beat the 5-cent consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. Revenue rose to $971 million from $946 million in the year-ago quarter. See full story. Avaya shares added 3.8 percent to trade for $16 in evening dealings.

Electronics contract manufacturer Flextronics
FLEX, -0.11%
reported third-quarter income of $21.4 million, or 4 cents a share, on revenue of $4.15 billion. Its operating profit of $93.9 million, or 17 cents a share, topped the expectations of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call for 14 cents a share on $3.84 million in revenue. During the same period a year ago, Flextronics lost $6.5 million, or 1 cent a share, on $3.85 million in revenue. See full story. Shares of Flextronics rose 6.4 percent after the bell, to $18.16.

Electronic Arts
ERTS
reported income for its third quarter, ended Dec. 31, of $392.3 million, or $1.26 a share, up 57 percent from $250.2 million a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, the company said it earned $393 million, or $1.26 a share. By that measure, analysts had been expecting the entertainment software maker to earn $1.20 a share, on average. Revenue rose to $1.48 billion, up 20 percent from $1.23 billion. For its fourth quarter, ending in March, Electronic Arts said it expects to earn 17 cents to 20 cents a share, based on sales of $550 million to $570 million. Analysts are currently expecting the software maker to earn 25 cents a share, based on sales of $570 million. See full story. EA stock lost 5.1 percent to change hands for $46.20 in late dealings.

Video-game pioneer Atari
ATAR, +0.00%
delayed the launch of its "Driver3" adventure game by three months, to June 1, and said its profit for the December quarter and full year will fall short of expectations because of lower-than-expected holiday sales. See full story. Atari shares tumbled 20.4 percent to $3.40 in evening trade.

Biotechnology firm Millennium Pharmaceuticals
MLNM
saw its fourth-quarter loss widen as revenue declined 12 percent because of the end of two pharmaceutical collaborations. The company said its fourth-quarter loss widened to $146.4 million, or 49 cents per share, compared with a loss of $79.7 million, or 28 cents per share, in the 2002 fourth quarter. Excluding restructuring and other one-time charges, Millennium said its loss was 30 cents per share in the latest period. The company had been expected to lose 32 cents per share, according to the average estimate of analysts polled by Reuters Research. See full story. Millennium shares edged down 15 cents to $17.25 in evening trade.

Wireless and Internet software maker InfoSpace
INSP, -0.03%
said it made $9.89 million, or 29 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $64.4 million, or $2.09 a share, the year before. Sales rose to $46.9 million from $36.2 million. The Bellevue, Wash.-based company said it expects to report earnings between $3 million and $5 million on sales between $44 million and $47 million in the first quarter of 2004. For the full year, InfoSpace sees a profit of $21 million to $26 million on sales of $195 million to $205 million. Analysts are currently looking for first-quarter revenue of $36.8 million and full-year sales of $156.6 million, according to Reuters Research. Shares of InfoSpace gained 20.3 percent to change hands for $29.85 after the bell.

Dentsply
XRAY, -0.65%
a dental products maker, said fourth-quarter profit rose 19.2 percent on higher sales and the weakened U.S. dollar against key currencies. The York, Pa.-based company reported Tuesday that fourth-quarter net income rose to $50.38 million, or 62 cents a share, up from $42.26 million, or 53 cents, a year ago. The average estimate of four analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for 59 cents a share. Revenue came in at $429 million, up from $384 million a year ago. Analysts expected revenue of $441 million. See full story. Shares of Dentsply closed Tuesday down 1.6 percent to $43.67.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Network Associates
NET, +1.68%
a maker of antivirus software, reported net income of $41.3 million, or 24 cents a share for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31. In the same quarter a year earlier, the company lost $11.2 million, or 7 cents a share. Excluding interest expenses, stock-based compensation and other one-time items, Network Associates said it earned $47 million, or 26 cents a share, down 28 percent from $65.6 million, or 35 cents a share, a year earlier. By that measure, 30 analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected the company to earn 21 cents a share, on average. shares rose as much as 99 cents, or 6 percent, to $17.10 in after-hours trading. The stock fell 14 cents to close at $16.11 in regular-session Nasdaq trading, ahead of the announcement. See full story.

Wireless networking equipment maker Proxim
PROX, +0.00%
reported a net loss of $36.1 million, or 29 cents a share, vs. a net loss of $144.1 million, or $1.20 a share, the year before. Sales in the period fell to $38.6 million from $50 million last year. The company's pro forma loss came in at $2.5 million, or 2 cents a share, compared with analysts' consensus estimate of a 3-cent per-share loss, according to Thomson First Call. Analysts had been looking for sales of $37 million, on average. Proxim stock fell 20 cents to $2.42 in late dealings.

Telecommunications equipment supplier CoSine Communications
COSN
said it postponed the release of its fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2003 earnings pending completion of its audit. Shares of CoSine shed 15.8 percent to change hands for $8.70 in late dealings.

General Dynamics
GD, +0.93%
said its National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. unit has won a $578.2 million contract with the U.S. Navy to provide two more cargo ships. The contract for the T-AKE program now will include six ships and be worth $1.87 billion; total backlog at NASSCO is now 10 ships. Shares of General Dynamics shed $1.22 to close at $93.20 ahead of the announcement.

Tuesday's advancers

Agere Systems
AGRA
surged almost 12 percent after the company reported a first-quarter loss of $39 million, or 2 cents per share, narrower than its year-ago loss of $146 million, or 9 cents per share. The latest results include a restructuring charge of $47 million related to decommissioning of the company's former manufacturing facilities, and a purchased in-process research and development charge of $13 million related to the acquisition of TeraBlaze. On a pro forma basis, excluding items, the Allentown, Pa., maker of chips and other networking-related communications products posted a profit of $22 million, or a penny per share, besting the mean estimate of 15 analysts polled by Thomson First Call for a breakeven performance. Revenue rose 18 percent in the latest three months to $516 million from $436 million in the same period a year earlier. The company attributed the revenue growth, which put it ahead of Wall Street's average estimate of $509.8 million, to 33 percent growth in its client systems business with strong demand for chips for mobile phones, hard disk drives, and other PC-related applications. Looking ahead, Agere sees pro forma earnings of between 1 and 2 cents per share and a flat sequential revenue performance in the March quarter. Wall Street's current average estimate for the second quarter is for a profit of a penny per share.

Shares of Agilent Technologies
A, -0.62%
rose nearly 9 percent. The company received an upgrade to "outperform" from Goldman Sachs after saying it would exceed its outlook for the first quarter. The Palo Alto, Calif., maker of chips and testing equipment now sees earnings before items of 20 to 24 cents per share on revenue of between $1.63 billion and $1.68 billion for the three-month period ending Jan. 31. It had been forecasting earnings of 5 to 15 cents per share for the quarter on revenue ranging from $1.55 billion to $1.65 billion. The company said it hasn't seen the normal seasonal decline in demand during the quarter, and that its semiconductor and semiconductor capital equipment businesses have been particularly strong. For the second quarter, Agilent forecast earnings before items of 20 to 25 cents per share on revenue of between $1.65 billion and $1.7 billion. The mean estimates of analysts polled by Thomson First Call were for clean earnings of 12 cents in the first quarter, and 17 cents per share in the second quarter, respectively.

Shares of Avery Dennison
AVY, +0.54%
spiked more than 7 percent higher after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. Net income was $59.3 million, or 59 cents a share, up from 56 cents a share in the year-earlier period. Excluding special items, such as integration and restructuring charges and gains from a sale of assets, earnings were 65 cents a share, above the average analyst estimate compiled by Reuters Research of 59 cents. Sales from continuing operations rose 13 percent to $1.2 billion, due primarily to a higher-than-anticipated rise in orders from several large office products customers. Looking ahead, the tape and label maker said it expects to earn 60 to 67 cents a share in the first quarter of 2004 and $2.75 to $3.10 a share for the year, vs. current analyst forecasts of 65 cents and $2.88, respectively.

Dendreon Corp.
DNDN
rose nearly 6 percent after the company priced its public offering of 10.25 million common shares at $12.75 each. The Seattle biotechnology firm anticipates gross proceeds of about $130.7 million from the deal. The over-allotment option allows for the sale of another 1,514,705 shares.

Shares of Envoy Communications
ECGI, -4.31%
soared almost 32 percent after the Toronto-based firm said its Watt International unit launched Odin, a Web-based project management software system. In its press release, the company said Odin "manages every stage of the design process in real- time - from concept development and package design to printing, packaging and getting the product to market."

IMC Global
IGL, +0.00%
shares rose more than 13 percent after the company agreed to combine with privately held Cargill Inc.'s crop nutrition business to create a new, publicly traded company. Terms of the definitive agreement call for holders of IMC Global's common shares and 7.5 percent mandatory convertible preferred stock to receive common or preferred shares in the new company on a one-for-one basis. IMC Global common shareholders will own on a pro forma basis 33.5 percent of the outstanding common shares of the new company, and Cargill's shareholders the rest. IMC Global said the deal, combining its U.S.-oriented fertilizer and agricultural products business with Cargill's international operations, is expected to be "immediately accretive to IMC Global earnings per share and be more additive to earnings per share and cash flow over the next several years."

Itron
ITRI, -0.46%
shares jumped almost 16 percent after the company's stock received upgrades from Adams, Harkness & Hill and First Albany. Saying the bad news is behind the company, Adams, Harkness & Hill went to 'buy' from 'market perform' on the stock. The firm set a price target of $25. For its part, First Albany went to "buy" from "underperform," and also set a price target of $25, saying the company's pending acquisition of Schlumberger's Electric Metering operations is likely to add to earnings in 2004.

Milacron
MZ
rose almost 27 percent after the company said late Monday that fourth-quarter revenue would be above expectations. Earnings from continuing operations and excluding one-time charges are projected to be "consistent" for prior forecasts. The plastics and industrial fluids company said it would report full results on Feb. 11.

Millipore
MIL, +6.38%
leaped 9 percent after the company said its fourth-quarter earnings jumped 64 percent amid strong demand for its life-sciences business. Millipore said its fourth-quarter income rose to $32.6 million, or 66 cents a share, from $19.9 million, or 41 cents, a year ago. The Billerica, Mass., provider of biomedical research products said revenue came in at $216 million, up 16 percent from $186 million a year ago. See full story.

Perficient
PRFT, +0.16%
shares leapt more than 18 percent after the Austin, Texas provider of e-business products and services reported fourth-quarter earnings of $533,844, or 3 cents per share, an improvement over its year-ago loss of $679,199, or 8 cents per share. Revenue rose in the latest three months to $8 million from $6 million in the same period a year earlier. Thomson First Call doesn't publish a mean estimate for the company. Looking ahead, Perficient sees revenue of $6.5 million to $6.9 million for the first quarter.

Quest Diagnostics
DGX, -0.34%
gained 6 percent after the company reported fourth-quarter net income of $108 million, or $1.02 per share, compared with $81.7 million, or 82 cents per share in the year-ago period. The latest number beat the forecast of 99 cents per share in a survey of analysts by Thomson First Call. The Teterboro, N.J. lab testing firm said revenue jumped 16.5 percent to $1.2 billion. Citing healthy clinical testing volume, the company raised its 2004 profit outlook to $4.70-$4.80 per share, compared with the current Wall Street view of $4.66 per share.

Silicon Laboratories
SLAB, +0.05%
jumped more than 17 percent after the maker of integrated circuits reported fourth-quarter earnings of 39 cents a share, up from 19 cents a share a year ago. Excluding items, net income was 44 cents a share, 12 cents ahead of the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call. Revenues rose 82 percent to $109.6 million in the latest three months from $60.2 million in the year-ago quarter. As well, the company said it expects to report sales of $104 million to $108 million in the first quarter of 2004. Analysts are looking for sales of $93.4 million.

TiVo
TIVO, -0.71%
jumped more than 12 percent after the company disclosed its sale of 8 million common shares to institutional investors at $9.30 each. The offering raised roughly $74 million, and the San Jose, Calif., provider of digital television recording equipment and services plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.

Tweeter Entertainment
TWTR, +0.12%
shares surged more than 14 percent after the Canton, Mass., consumer electronics retailer reported first-quarter earnings of $5.1 million, or 21 cents per share, down slightly from its year-ago profit of $5.2 million, or 22 cents per share, but 3 cents ahead of the mean estimate of seven analysts polled by Thomson First Call. Revenue rose 2 percent in the latest three months to $255 million from $250 million in the same period a year earlier. Looking ahead, Tweeter sees between breakeven results and a loss of 5 cents per share on sales of between $184 million and $188 million in the second quarter. It said same-store sales for the current quarter were tracking up 3 percent through Jan. 24, and that it expects an overall performance between flat and up 3 percent for the period.

Unizan Financial Corp.
UNIZ
shares added almost 11 percent after the company agreed to be acquired by Huntington Bancshares
HBAN, -0.40%
in a deal valued at about $587 million. The purchase price of $26.39 per share represents a 15 percent premium over Unizan's Monday closing price of $22.95. Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares said the deal was unanimously approved by the boards of directors at both banks. The deal is expected to close late in the second quarter. Huntington Bancshares expects the deal to add to 2004 earnings, excluding one-time charges. The merger will add more than 1 percent to the company's 2005 earnings, Huntington said. Separately, Unizan reported fourth quarter net income of $2.6 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with $8.4 million, or 37 cents per share last year.

Xerox
XRX, +0.11%
gained nearly 9 percent after the company reported fourth-quarter net income of $197 million, or 22 cents a share, up from a penny a share in the year-earlier period. Excluding a gain from a reduced litigation reserve, earnings were 19 cents a share, exceeding the average analyst estimate compiled by Reuters Research of 15 cents. Revenue rose 1 percent to $4.29 billion, ahead of analyst forecasts of $4.18 billion. The copier maker cited strength in its color systems and office digital products, as well as cost cutting efforts for the better than anticipated results.

Tuesday's decliners

Altera
ALTR, -0.30%
lost almost 7 percent after the company topped profit estimates for the fourth quarter by a penny but turned in a disappointing revenue performance. Revenue came in at $217.4 million, just shy of Wall Street's analysts' estimate of $219 million.

Artisan Components
ARTI, -1.83%
lost nearly 16 percent. The move comes after the Sunnyvale, Calif., chip intellectual property firm posted first-quarter pro forma earnings of $3.3 million, or 14 cents per share, topping the mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call by 2 cents. The company also disclosed the departure of James Hogan as senior vice president of business development. Hogan resigned to pursue other interests. Artisan named R. Keith Hopkins vice president of sales, putting him in charge of its sales organizations in North America and Europe. Hopkins most recently served as vice president of worldwide sales at Denali Software.

BMC Software
BMC, +3.03%
dipped almost 5 percent after the company reported a third-quarter loss of $44.4 million, or 20 cents a share, vs. a profit of a nickel a share in the year-earlier period. Excluding items, earnings were 19 cents a share, above the average analyst estimate compiled by Reuters Research of 17 cents a share. Revenue rose 7 percent to $374.8 million, ahead of the analysts' view of $359.1 million. Looking ahead, the software maker expects earnings of 21 to 25 cents a share in its fiscal fourth-quarter, surrounding analyst forecasts of 22 cents. The company also raised its cash flow outlook for 2004 to $400 million to $450 million from $340 million to $390 million.

Cellegy Pharmaceuticals
CLGY
slid almost 21 percent after the company reported positive results of phase III trials for Cellegesic, its lead product candidate. The San Francisco company said Cellegesic, which is an ointment being developed to treat pain from anal fissures, produced a "statistically significant" reduction in pain compared with the placebo. Cellegy did say, however, that the most common side effect of the use of Cellegesic was a mild to moderate headache, as expected, and that this caused a total of five participants to drop out of the trial. It plans to submit a new drug application for Cellegesic to the FDA in the second quarter.

CTS Corp.
CTS, +0.55%
dropped nearly 8 percent after the electronic components maker indicated late Monday that full-year 2004 earnings would fall short of expectations. The company said it expects earnings for the year to be 40 to 44 cents a share, including a 6-cent gain from the pending sale of assets, and a 7-cent reduction in expected pension income. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had been expecting earnings of 46 cents a share, on average. For the fourth-quarter of 2003, the company reported earnings of 11 cents a share, up from 2 cents in the year-earlier period, and a penny ahead of analyst forecasts.

EarthLink
ELNK
fell almost 10 percent after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $10.7 million, or 7 cents per share, up from its year-ago loss of $36.9 million, or 24 cents per share. Excluding facility exit costs, acquisition-related amortization and accretion dividends, the Atlanta-based Internet access services provider earned $19.4 million, or 12 cents per share, beating the mean profit estimate of nine analysts polled by Thomson First Call by 3 cents. Revenue rose 0.2 percent in the latest three months to $348.2 million from $347.9 million in the same period a year earlier. Net subscriber growth totaled 248,000 for the quarter, and 219,000 for the year. Monthly subscriber churn rose to 4.1 percent in the quarter from 3.6 percent a year ago, a trend the company attributed to continued migration of premium narrowband subscribers to other providers' broadband access services and a significant increase in the number of new subscribers, which typically have high early-life churn. Looking ahead, EarthLink forecast adding between 250,000 and 550,000 paying subscribers in 2004 with revenue for the year coming in between $1.41 billion and $1.44 billion. It sees earnings before items ranging from $49 million to $75 million for the year.

Exact Sciences'
EXAS, +2.49%
shares tumbled 20 percent after the Marlborough, Mass., applied genomics firm reported a surprise pro forma loss for the fourth quarter, and disclosed plans to sell 6 million shares of its common stock in a public offering. Excluding $100,000 in stock-based compensation charges, the company lost $5.6 million, or 29 cents per share, short the mean estimate of three analysts polled by Thomson First Call for a profit of 9 cents per share. The stock offering includes an over-allotment option for the sale of another 900,000 shares. The news garnered Exact Sciences a downgrade to 'neutral' from Merrill.

Hexcel
HXL, +1.16%
shares lost more than 6 percent after the Stamford, Conn., structural materials firm reported a fourth-quarter loss of $12.7 million, or 33 cents per share, wider than its year-ago loss of $6.1 million, or 16 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. The latest results include $3 million in preferred dividends and accretion related to its issuance of convertible preferred stock in March. Interest expense of $12.5 million in the quarter wiped out Hexcel's operating income of $10.7 million. Looking ahead, the company forecast sales of between $900 million and $1 billion for 2004, compared to its total of $896.9 million in 2003.

Shares of John B. Sanfilippo & Son
JBSS, -0.74%
dropped almost 10 percent after the Elk Grove Village, Ill. seller of nuts and sesame sticks reported year-over-year growth in its second-quarter earnings but said it would restate certain prior results to reclassify freight costs and that it plans to sell 2 million common shares in a public offering. The company earned $10.4 million, or $1.09 per share, on sales of roughly $171.4 million in the three months ended Dec. 25, up from its year-ago equivalent profit of $8.2 million, or 89 cents per share. John B. Sanfilippo said it would now recognize freight costs as selling expenses rather as a reduction in net sales. In a Form S-3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company disclosed its plans for the share sale, which includes an over-allotment option of 300,000 shares. John B. Sanfilippo is selling 1 million of the shares, while selling shareholders are offering the rest.

Netegrity
NETE, +0.67%
dropped almost 26 percent after the company said that, excluding items, it earned $2.5 million, or 6 cents a share in the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31. The company had lost $7.4 million, or 22 cents per share, by that same measure a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call had expected the maker of network identity and access-control software to earn 4 cents a share, on average. Revenue was $22.5 million, up from $16.3 million in the same period last year. Looking ahead, Netegrity said it expects to report "a small amount of GAAP net income" in the first quarter, on total sales that fall 5 percent from the fourth quarter. Analysts had been expecting earnings excluding items of 3 cents a share, based on sales of $22 million.

Novellus Systems'
NVLS
shares lost nearly 15 percent after the chip capital equipment firm offered a forecast for the first quarter that's below the current Wall Street view. Novellus expects a profit of 8 cents a share on sales of between $240 million to $250 million. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call are currently looking for earnings of 11 cents per share. See full story.

Retek
RETK
shares lost nearly 13 percent after the Minneapolis provider of software retailing software fell short of Wall Street's average analysts' revenue view in the fourth quarter despite posting a better than expected operating profit in the period. Excluding items, the company earned $1.1 million, or 2 cents per share, on revenue of $44.1 million for the three months ended Dec. 31. The mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was looking for earnings of a penny per share on revenue of $45.4 million. Looking ahead, Retek forecast earnings before items of 2 to 4 cents per share on revenue of between $45 million and $48 million in the first quarter.

Rockwell Automation
ROK, -1.14%
shares slid more than 5 percent. Before the opening bell, the Milwaukee provider of industrial automation power products posted first-quarter earnings before items of $53.3 million, or 28 cents per share, a penny ahead of Wall Street's average analysts' view. However, Smith Barney issued a report on the results calling the revenue total of $1.02 billion "disappointing." The firm noted that, removing the influence of positive currency translation, revenue actually declined 2 percent on a year-over-year basis. Smith Barney, which has a 'hold' rating on the stock with a price target of $36, added that: "While ROK clearly has strong leverage to recovery, trading at a 20 percent premium to the group, the stock looks fully valued."

Texas Instruments
TXN, -0.08%
slumped nearly 5 percent. The move comes despite news that the Dallas-based semiconductor giant reported earnings before items for the fourth quarter that beat Wall Street's consensus per share estimate by 3 cents. Looking ahead, the Dallas-based chip firm forecast earnings of 16 to 22 cents per share, surrounding the mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call for a profit of 18 cents per share. Revenue is projected between $2.72 billion and $2.95 billion for the March quarter.

United Defense
UDI
lost almost 8 percent after the defense contractor reported fourth-quarter net income of $28.8 million, or 54 cents a share, down from 82 cents a share in the year-earlier period, but above the average analyst estimate compiled by Reuters Research of 50 cents a share. Revenue rose 0.7 percent to $524.7 million, as increases in ship repair, non-line of sight Cannon development and assault amphibious vehicle sales offset lower Bradley fighting vehicle and M88 Hercules sales.

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